Back in the Day - Old Photos

[davidbob]

There's another copy of the hand picture in the back room of the Cossatot Visitor's Center. If memory serves it was included as part of a longer piece in an ancient article in the old Gazette about paddling in general and the Cossatot in particular.

I bet some of you young whippersnappers don't even remember when there was a Gazette.

[George Locke]

David Hunter

[shelbyjohnson]

I am lovin' me some of this thread. Makes me wanna climb into the back of the closet and start looking through film.

[Steve S]

We were unable to find The Hand picture at Ozark Outdoor Supply yesterday. Jim Frank said he would continue looking for it.

Jim did have a handful of old photos which I'm going to start scanning and posting as time allows.

In this photo, notice the high-tech helmet that Kerry is wearing as well as his Iliad flat-blade, 90-degree paddle.

[Steve S]

I think Max Wellhouse is still using this Seda helmet. It's just like the one that Walter Felton currently wears (gold-colored Seda helmets are known to give the wearer super-human paddling abilities).

[Steve S]

This unnamed paddler is demonstrating early self-rescue technique at The Mother on the Piney. You'll notice that his feet are pointed up to avoid entrapment and that he is wearing the standard paddling gear of the time: blue jeans and boots.

[Steve S]

This is a picture of Mike Beard in warm-weather paddling gear. I have no idea what he's doing or why. Are there any witnesses to this out there?

[Steve S]

Definitely old school. I don't know who the paddler was, but he had his Blue Hole under control as he ran Washing Machine.

[Steve S]

I don't know the kayaker, but I think that is Frank Barton in the blue PFD standing to the right of the white helmet on the ground.

[Steve S]

Arkansas paddlers used to run slalom events on the Piney. This picture is Max Wellhouse and his partner in a C-2.

[Roger]

Not sure but I think the LEGS in that pic with the overturned bluehole belongs to Deb Moore. I think there's a pic of it on there store wall.

[whudson]

This is a great thread. Keep the pics coming.
Walter

[fryingsquirrel]

This is a picture of Mike Beard in warm-weather paddling gear. I have no idea what he's doing or why. Are there any witnesses to this out there?

Nice Shorts!

[RandyJ]

Great photos, Steve! Thanks.

Okay, 1990. Gosh, has it been 20 years?!? In March of that year, NOC played host to “Nantahala ‘90”. From NOC’s web site: “Project RAFT's Nantahala ‘90. Project RAFT was initiated by American and Russian whitewater raft experts who wanted to create an event to overcome the political animosity between these two countries. First held in Siberia in 1989, Project RAFT next moved to the Nantahala River in 1990. “

That year, 41 six-person teams from 20-some-odd countries converged on NOC to take place in this weeklong rally/festival/competiton/peace camp. “Team South Central” was composed of five people from Arkansas, and me, from Oklahoma. Some of the events held were raft slalom, orienteering, triathlon (mtn bike, run, paddle raft), river rescue, and a downriver raft race.

You folks of the younger generation all know about the Iron Curtain, Soviet Union, Cold War, and Communism, but let me point out/remind (with some Wikipedia help) what was going on at the time. Here are a few key dates that set the context for Nantahala ’90:
Jun 1987 – Reagan makes speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and challenged Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!”
Dec 1987 – Reagan and Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty that eliminated intermediate-range missiles in eastern Europe
Apr 1989 – the Solidarity organization was legalized in Poland and captured 99% of their parliamentary seats
Nov 1989 – fall of the Berlin Wall. Hundreds of thousands of people from Eastern Bloc countries travel to western Europe for the first time.
Feb 1990 – Central Committee of the Communist Party agreed to give up its monopoly of power; the 15 republics held their first competitive elections

So as a “boomer” born in ’57, all that space race/cold war/Cuban missile crisis/etc. makes a pretty big impact on your world view. And then to land at NOC in March ’90…smack dab in the middle of all that getting turned upside down and busted up…meeting people from Russia, Georgia (USSR), Belarus, Ukraine, a combined team from East and West Germany, along with teams from Costa Rica, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and WA, OR, the Southeast in the US…well, it was just magical. We ate, traveled, competed, partied, and celebrated hard for a week and made new friends from around the world (cue up the "teach the world to sing" Coke commercial here ).

I have a box full of mementos, and a bunch more pictures, I think, from Nantahala '90. Hoping Dale and Pam, or anyone else, can dig up some stuff to add in here, too. So many stories and memories – probably a few message threads worth. But I’ll start with a couple of photos, since they’re handy:

This is our team finishing the raft slalom in Worser Wesser Falls.


Our team at the Nolichucky for the raft downriver race. Left to right: Max Wellhouse, Kent Davidson, Mike Beard, Shelle Barton Stormoe, me, Tommy "Tomcat" Wingard



Oh, and by the way, Team South Central finished 5th out of the 41 teams – not too shabby.

[Lupe]

Man - this stuff is awesome!

You know, there a whole lot of folks who don't visit the message board very often, and I just heard that the next
newsletter deadline is coming up next week. I think it would be really cool to put some of these pictures and stories
into the next newsletter, maybe along with a teaser to visit the message board and to get more people to add some
more pictures and stories! I would love to keep seeing these pictures and stories. Maybe we could get some of you
all to make a slideshow to share at some meetings too. I know I would love to hear more about this stuff!

Thanks so much for sharing all this!